Botanist Newsletter

Issue No. 22, October to November 1998

Weed Training for Works Ops

An initial training session on identifying waterway weeds was held for about 20 Works Ops staff in October. If successful (as judged by results in the field), additional training sessions will be held for the remaining staff.

The Water Services Units management approach of managing waterways as environmental assets was outlined and a related video was shown. The important part that the maintenance staff has in achieving this vision was noted.

The layout of the Guide was explained and this was followed by a "hands on" session in plant identification. A sample of all of the weeds and native species covered in the Waterway Weed Guide was available for staff to identify.

Waterway Inspections

Several site inspections were made of waterways to look at the range of situations staff will encounter in the field. One problem noticed was the presence nearby of significant seed sources that are outside the usual maintenance area, which are providing an ongoing source of weeds.

Weed Training at Ernlea Tce

A follow-up training session was held in November, along the Heathcote River bank at Ernlea Tce. This session involved staff walking a section of the bank and identifying as many weeds as possible, using the Waterway Weed Guide.

There was further opportunity to point out features that enable the different species to be recognised. A good level of species recognition was achieved by the staff involved.

Waterway Weed Guide

Based on feedback from staff, some changes have been made to the weed guide (such as additional photographs and explanations).

Several more species will be included in future versions, including several species that are known to cause skin irritations (wild parsnip, giant hogweed).

Christchurch Habitats

A project to investigate the urban ecology of Christchurch has commenced. The research is a collaborative project between Lincoln University, Landcare Research and the CCC.

A better understanding of the ecological processes that are occurring in the urban environment will enable improved management, to promote urban biodiversity, sustainability and ecological integrity. The urban ecology of Christchurch has not been previously studied in this way. We are comparing Christchurch with other cities, including some in other countries.

The preliminary results of this research will be presented at an upcoming conference for the Australian and New Zealand Ecological Societies.

Styx River Wetland

As part of the ongoing monitoring of Ecological Heritage Sites, a site visit was made to the wetland at the Styx River mouth. This is an extensive area of saline wetland.

The wetland forms part of a large wetland complex. Nearby wetlands include freshwater wetland on the northern side of the Waimakariri River and saline wetland at Brooklands Lagoon.

Streamside Planting Guide

All of the species mentioned in the Streamside Planting Guide now have detailed descriptive information available for them. About half the species pages now also include photographs. The "home page" for the site has also been improved and additional navigation buttons have been added to each page.

The Guide is available at www.ccc.govt.nz/streamside. This means that the public can get far more detailed information on the plants recommended in the guide.

New to the parks library (and available for CCC staff to borrow) :

• An Illustrated Guide to Common Weeds of New Zealand
• NZ Plant Protection Society
• Regional Pest Management Strategy 1998
• Canterbury Regional Council
• Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996
• Travis Marsh Invertebrate Inventory and Analysis
• Macfarlane, Patrick, Johns, Vink (April 1998)